Article and method of producing the same



Nov. 22, 1938. w. WADE El AL ARTICLE AND METHOD OF PRODUCING THE SAME Filed March 18, 1936 Patented Nov. 22, 1938 UNITED STATES 2,137,707 ARTICLE AND METIOD F PRODUCING THE Worth Wade, New York, and Harry H. Replogle,

Scarsdale, N. Y., assignors to Sylvania Industrial Corporation, Fredericksburg, Va., a corporation of Virginia Application March 18,

6 Claims.

The invention relates in general to a process for packaging candles and in particular to a process for packagingtapered candles in a transparent casing, and to correlated improvements in the product of this process.

A general object of the invention is to .provide a process for packaging tapered candles to increase their resistance to breakage and deformation.

A specific object of the invention is to provide a tapered candle with a smooth, closely adhering casing which is adapted to serve as a chimney during the burning of the candle.

Other objects of the invention will inpart be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

According to the invention, a tapered candle is packaged against breakage and deformation and with a chimney by drying a wet seamless tube of non-fibrous cellulosic material into a casing of suitable taper and enclosing the candle in this casing. The invention also contemplates providing the casing with reinforcing elements to render it more suitable for use as a chimney during the burning of the candle.

For the candle, any suitable combustible animal, mineral or vegetable wax may be employed,

such as beeswax, paraffin, carnauba, etc., or any composition derived from the mixture of waxes and other desirable agents. The term wax" as herein employed is used to designate any suitable combustible wax-like substance or composition. The casing may be formed of any suitable nonfibrous cellulosic material. The casing is preferably formed of regenerated cellulose which may be derived from alkali cellulose xanthogenates or by the de-esterification of cellulose esters by known processes. The casing may be formed also of cellulose derivatives such as cellulose ethers and.

cellulose oxy-ethers, as well as mixed ether-esters of cellulose. The casing may be transparent, translucent and/or colored and may have fillers and/or fireproofing agents added thereto.

It has been discovered that the cellulosic material formed by the partial denitration of nitrocellulose until the nitrogen content is 2% or less, is particularly advantageous for forming casings for tapered candles because this material is characterized by superior strength and by shrinkingup to 30% on drying. Therefore, even with a candle having a very substantial taper, this material is capable of shrinking to form a casing which adheres closely to the lateral surfaces. of the candle. I

The invention accordingly comprises the improved candle unit and a process having the steps and the relation ofsteps, one to another, all as exemplified in the following detailed description and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the claims.

For a more complete understanding of the na- 1936, Serial No. 69,513

ture and objects of the invention, reference should ess of forming longitudinal beads on the casing;

and

Fig. 6 represents a casing formed by the process illustrated in Fig. 5.

In the now preferred process of the invention,

a tapered candle is provided with a seamless casing of a non-fibrous, cellulosic material by forming the material into a seamless tube having a normal diameter when wet substantially equal to the mean diameter of the tapered candle to be encased, wetting this tube, forcing the Wet tube over a tapered mandrel having substantially the same shape as the candle to be encased, drying the tube on the mandrel, removing the dried tapered tube from the mandrel and disposing the dried tube on the tapered candle.

Referring to Fig. 1, a tube I formed of a nonfibrous, cellulosic material is subjected to the actionof a substance, such as water, which will soften the material and the softened tube is slipped over the small end of a mandrel 2 having a taper substantially the same as that of the tapered candle to be encased. The tube I is so selected that its wet diameter is substantially equal to the mean diameter of the mandrel. The. tube l is pushed on the mandrel with such pressure that a substantial area A of the casing is caused to stretch in accommodating itself to the larger end of the mandrel. The mandrel bearing the tube is now subjected tothe drying atmosphere to dry the tube until the entire area of the tube has shrunk into contact with the surface of the mandrel. If the mandrel has a substantial taper, it may be that an area B of the-tube l which covers the smaller end of the mandrel may have to shrink to become closely adherent to the surface of the mandrel. The dried tube as slipped from the mandrel comprises-a candle casing 3.

The casing 3 is disposed on the candle 4 to be casing 3 formed of transparent, non-fibrous. cellulosic material. I

While the process above described represents the preferred embodiment of the invention, it has been found that a tapered candle may be encased in two steps. For example, instead of using the mandrel 2 upon which to form a pre-dried casing, a wet tube I of suitable size is disposed immediately on a tapered candle 4 in exactlythe manneras described with respect to forming the casing on the mandrel 2, i. e. a cylindrical tube I is selected so that its wet diameter is substantially equal to the mean diameter of the tapered candle. The wet tube is pushed down on the candle until a portion A is stretched inaccommodating the larger end of the candle. The candle 4 bearing the tube I is subjected to a drying atmosphere. During the drying of the tube l, a portion B thereof will shrink, whereby the tapered candle will be encased in a smooth, closely adhering casing. When the wet tubing is dried directly on the candle instead of on the mandrel, it is preferable to provide at the top of the candle a collar I6 which may comprise a stiiT resilient strip formed of a non-fibrous, cellulosic material of the same general type as the casing. This collar serves to support that portion 5 of the casing I which extends beyond the end of the candle'and prevents this extension from shrinking around the end of the candle. The collar l6 may be removed after the tube I has dried, or may remain on the candle and serve to maintain the casing in a smooth and unwrinkled condition.

'A non-combustible, substantially rigid disc I or the like may be positioned on the bottom of the candle, as shown in Fig. 4. The tube I may be shrunk around the disc I, formed of a noncombustible, wax-impermeable material, to provide a complete impermeable enclosure at the base of the unit which serves to retain the molten candle composition during the burning of the candle. The casing serves as a chimney during the burning of the candle and, since it is impermeable to wax and grease, it fully retains the candle composition whether it is in a solid or a molten state.

Since the casing serves as a chimney during the burning of the candle, it is desirable in some cases to reinforce the walls of the casing. According to the present invention, the wall of the casing may be reinforced by forming a plurality of heads 8 lengthwise of the casing. For example, as shown in Fig. 5, there may be disposed about the surface of the candle 4 a plurality of rigid rods 9 disposed longitudinally of the candle which may be mounted upon a common base I0. A wet casing of suitable size is now pushed over the candle and over the rods and the casing is dried thereon as above described. After the casing is dry, the rods are withdrawn, whereupon it will be found that during the drying of the casing the rods have produced longitudinal beads or ribs in the casing walls. These beads are resistant to bending and tend to prevent the deformation of the casing when it serves as a chimney during the burning of the candle. It is obvious that a preformed casing having longitudinal beads in the walls thereof may be produced by applying a plurality of bead-forming members to the surface of the mandrel shown in Fig. 1 in the same manner as described in connection with the use of these rods on the candle, or the mandrel may be preformed with a beaded surface as desired.

It is obvious that a tapered candle having any conceivable shape in cross-section can be encased according to the herein disclosed invention.

Since certain changes may be made in the method and article and different embodiments of the invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which as a matter of language might be said to fall therebetween.

We claim:

1. A process for packaging a tapered candle, comprising forcing a wet seamless tube of nonfibrous cellulosic material onto a suitable tapered mandrel, drying said tube into a tapered casing in contact with said mandreLand enclosing a tapered candle in sa d preformed tapered casing.

2. A process for packaging a tapered candle, comprising forming a non-fibrous cellulosic material into a seamless tube having a normal diameter when wet substantially equal to the mean diameter of the tapered candle to be encased, wetting said tube, forcing the wet tube over a suitable tapered mandrel by stretching a portion of the tube; drying said tube into a tapered casing in contact with said mandrel and enclosing a tapered candle in said preformed tapered casing.

3. A process for packaging a tapered candle, comprising forming a non-fibrous cellulosic material into a tube having a normal diameter when wet substantially equal to the mean diameter of the tapered candle to be encased, forcing the wet tube over a suitable tapered mandrel having a longitudinal bead on its surface, drying the tube on the mandrel into contact with the surface of the mandrel to form a dry tapered casing having a longitudinal bead, removing the casing from the mandrel and disposing the preformed casing on a tapered candle.

4. A process for packaging a tapered candle, comprising disposing on the surface of a tapered candle a bead-forming element, forcing a wet tube of non-fibrous cellulosic material over the candle and over the bead-forming element, drying the tube into contact with the surface of the candle and thereafter withdrawing the bead forming element from. between the dried tube and said candle.

5. A process of forming a tapered candle casing comprising forming a shrinkable non-fibrous cellulosic material into a tube having a normal diameter when wet substantially equal to the mean diameter of the tapered candle to be encased, forcing the wet tube over a suitable tapered form, and drying the tube on the form to produce a dry casing having substantially the same taper as the candle.

6. An article of manufacture comprising a candle unit including a tapered candle and a tapered casing formed initially of a cylindrical casing having a diameter approximately equal to the mean diameter of the candle closely fitting said candle and formed of a non-fibrous cellulosic tube which is stretched beyond its initial diameter at one end and contracted below its initial diameter at the other end.

WORTH WADE. HARRY H. REPLOGLE. 

